bone china coffee cups

Guide to Gift Registry | Wedding Planning
Keep track of all the latest Bridal Guide guide to gift registry articles.

• Kitchen Gadgets
  With these cool hand-held gadgets, grating, slicing, dicing and chopping are not only easy but fun!Sleek and simple to use: Whether you’re sifting flour, experimenting with an exotic cuisine or just whisking up salad dressing, you won’t want to do without these great new kitchen helpers. Bon appétit!Silicone paddle whisk is designed to let you scrape and fold at the same time, by Cuisipro. Green silicone spatula by Zyliss. This silicone basting brush’s ball-head bristles make for smooth application, by William Bounds. Ball whisk for mixing salad dressings by WMF Atelier. Orange measuring cup and dual-purpose knife and shears, by KitchenAid for Lifetime Brands. Silicone cookie spatula by William Bounds. Blue silicone high-heat oven mitt by SiliconeZone. Green 5-way bottle opener by Zyliss. Gold flat enamel wall paint by BEHR. Pegboard from Lowe’s.Guess what?These stumped us. See if you can figure out what each of these gadgets does. (No peeking at the answers below.) A. Fruit Scoops by Progressive make it easy to separate ripe fruit from its skin. Red is for carving pumpkins; yellow is for melons; green is for kiwi or zucchini. B. Kiwee knife from Chef ’n has a serrated cutting edge for getting through fuzzy fruit skins, plus a contoured scoop edge for digging the fruit out. C. The Ice Cream Scoop & Stack by Cuisipro makes compact, cylinder-shaped scoops of ice cream to use in ice cream sandwiches. D. The Karim Rashid-designed cordless vacuum by Dirt Devil picks up crumbs and dust quickly.Photography: Alexandra Grablewski.
• Cuisine Treasures
  Kitchen novice? With these handy-dandy implements, you’ll be ready for the Food Network in no time.Making cupcakes is a breeze with these tools. FROM TOP LEFT: Bowl, angled measuring cup (right), timer (bottom) and wooden spoon (right), all by OXO Good Grips. Flour sifter and measuring cups by Progressive. Yellow brush by Swissmar. Balloon whisk by Kuhn Rikon. Mini bowls by Le Creuset. Blue spatula and spoon rest, both by SiliconeZone. Orange whisk by Trudeau. Liners by Kaiser. Muffin pan by KitchenAid for Lifetime Brands. Baking sheet by Analon.Make short work of prepping veggies and cooking ingredients. CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Mixing bowls by Trudeau. Coarse hand grater for cheese and vegetables; green box grater with three blades (fine, medium and coarse) and one-cup grater, all by KitchenAid for Lifetime Brands. Cutting mat by SiliconeZone. Blue-handled salt-rock hand grater by Microplane. Red serrated peeler for soft-skinned fruits like tomatoes, by Zyliss. Ceramic peeler by Kuhn Rikon. Go global! These tools will help create Mexican, Indian and Asian specialities. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Salsa bowl by Mexican Fiesta. Ceramic knife, mortar and pestle and Indian-motif trivet, all designed by Suvir Saram for Wade Ceramics. Pizza stone by Kitchen Supply Company. Strainer by Joyce Chen. Double lime squeeze and avocado knife (below) by Vasconia for Lifetime Brands. Tortilla press by Mexican Fiesta. Steamer and ginger grater by Joyce Chen. You’ll be a kitchen magician with these. clockwise from left: Kudamono paring knife from J.A. Henckels. Utility knife by Wüsthoff has beveled shapes at its edges to help sticky foods slide off the blade. Green pizza slicer by Zyliss. Lever corkscrew opens wine bottles quickly, by Metrokane. Ceramic knife by Kuhn Rikon. Pizza scissors and cheese knife, both by Progressive. Red-and-white square slicer cuts apples evenly, by KitchenAid for Lifetime Brands.Photography: Alexandra Grablewski.Our Favorite ThingsEvery cook has a tool he or she can’t live without. Here’s what three TV chefs told us.Paula Deen, the star of Food Network’s Paula’s Home Cooking, loves her stirring spoon. ”Like a good seasoned skillet, my grandmother’s wooden spoon adds that special something to everything I make, whether it’s a pot of chili or oyster stew. Call me sentimental, but it’s about function. No kitchen should be without an all-purpose, classic wooden spoon.” Ingrid Hoffmann, star of the Food Network show Simply Delicioso, said that her personal fave is her green lime squeezer. “I use it for everything. Besides juicing limes beautifully, it multitasks as a hammer, meat flattener and shoe horn, and most recently when I couldn’t find my eyelash curler I warmed it on the stove ever so slightly and curled my lashes with it.” —Nicole TrifilioThe host of American Public Television’s Simply Ming, Ming Tsai loves his Kyocera mandolin, a slicing tool that stands on its own. “I’m good at cutting with my knife, but when I’m cooking at home with my wife, we’ll both use this mandolin to make consistent, beautiful slices. I use it to prep ingredients for stir fry; it makes everything super thin so vegetables cook up quickly—a big advantage when you have two hungry children waiting to eat!” Photography: (from top) Courtesy of Food Network; Dari Michelle Photography.
• Grilling Tips & Tools
  Fire up the barbie! Here, expert tips on how to throw the best outdoor parties ever. by Aimée MorganHot Tip: For great grill marks, turn your meat just once, halfway through its cooking time. And never use a fork—it will let the natural juices escape. Create mouthwatering meals—minus the mess and extra prep. Elizabeth Karmel, author of Taming the Flame, tells you how. Choose a gas grill; it’s easy to use. Gone are the days of fussing with messy charcoal, smelly lighter fluid and out-of-control flames. Most grills are equipped for the direct cooking method, with the heat source located directly beneath the food, but make certain yours is also configured to cook with an indirect heat source—best for cooking larger cuts of meat. And look for a larger model than you think you’ll need; once you master the BBQ basics, you’ll want to use your grill all the time.Fire ’er up. Preheat your grill for 15 to 20 minutes, using olive oil, kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Grilling meats and veggies after coating them with a minute amount of oil will encourage carmelization, prevent sticking and keep in natural juices. Cook at a moderate temperature after preheating, and make sure not to oil the grates—the top of the grill will get sticky, causing the food to burn. To clean up (don’t worry, it’s a cinch), simply leave the heat on for 10 to 15 minutes after you finish cooking, and scrape the grates with a brass-bristle brush (a stainless brush can damage the finish). Don’t scrub down your grill with soap and water; similar to a cast-iron skillet, it will naturally absorb fats and juices and after a while become “seasoned.” This is what gives you that great BBQ flavor.Tools of the Trade Two pairs of extra-long tongs to prevent cross-contamination: one for raw food and the other for cooked foods.A brass-bristle cleaning brush to rub down the grates after grilling.An instant-read meat thermometer to ensure food is done to perfection.A long silicone oven mitt, which will withstand high heat and is easy to clean.A basic spatula, either metal or silicone, for turning thinner cuts of meat and vegetables.Photography: (Portrait) Eric Futran; (Tools) Grill Friends; (Book) John Wiley and Sons.
• Fashion Designer Creates Stylish Tableware
  Known more for her wedding dress designs, a top designer turns her talents to a beautiful new line for Royal Doulton.by Aimée MorganFrom top: Femme Fatale dinnerware; Femme Fatale cups, saucers and coffee pot; Étoile Platinum dinnerware, all from the Monique Lhuillier for Royal Doulton collection.Q: As a fashion designer, what was important to you to include in your new tabletop collection?A: Each bridal gown I create is made of the finest materials, allowing a bride to feel like herself—yet at the same time look extremely elegant and refined. I wanted to bring these same design ideals to everyday living. My dinnerware patterns—there are five—aren’t a direct translation of specific gowns, but their influence is evident in the use of rich colors and plays on texture, especially pearlescent overlays and raised-design features. For instance, the Femme Fatale dinnerware line is done in a pearlized gray, lizard-inspired print that I use in my ready-to-wear line. Q: You’ve said that your travels have been a huge influence on your design sensibilities. How so?A: Though my design tendencies keep evolving, they have always focused on luxury, glamour and sophistication. I’ve traveled to France often, so as a result, many of the shapes in my dinnerware lines have been inspired by European design—the teacup shaped like a tin can, for instance, and the oversize flatware. In Europe, dining is about more than just eating; it also has to do with sharing time with loved ones. It was my goal to encourage new couples and their families and friends to come together, even for coffee. Q: You’ve also mentioned the influence that your mother has had on your designs. What did you learn from her?A: My mother is extremely stylish and made a point of using our fine china all the time. So I wanted to introduce high-quality products for daily use in order to redefine what modern luxury should be. Q: Is it realistic to sugges